Golf club joint



June 23, 1936-. A. A. KRAEUTER GOLF CLUB JOINT Original Filed Dec. 29,1928 FIGJ.

Illllililil!!! I!!! I lill ilfllflllll HHHHH MII'IlIIIIILIfli'Il/INVENTQR Patented June 23, 1936 UNITED STATES GOLF CLUB JOINT Arthur A.Kraeuter, South Orange, N. J., assignor to The Kroydon (30., Inc., acorporation of New Jersey Original application December 29, 1928, SerialNo. 328,927. Divided and this application January 15, 1934, Serial No.706,606 V Claims.

This invention relates to golf clubs. It has particular application toclubs having metallic shafts which are continuously tapering and securedto a. metal head having an integral hosel,

5 but it may have other uses.

This application is a division of my prior application Serial No.328,927, filed December 29, 1928.

It is an object of the invention to provide a golf club having all ofthe necessary resilience,

appearance and other characteristics of previously constructed clubshaving wooden shafts, and yet retaining all of the desirable featuresobtainable with the use of metallic shafts Without the undesirablefeatures of well-known wooden shafts which are likely to warp, check,crack and be susceptible of uneven flexibility and other undesirablefeatures due to atmospheric conditions or from those beyond the controlof the user. a

It is another object of the invention to provide a golf club having ahead and hosel and provided with a sleeve or adapter portion for joiningthe hosel and shaft in such a way that no uneven joints result and themetallic shaft will be reenforced and have the necessary rigidity in thesame manner as would be supplied by the customary wooden shaft.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction of clubin which a hollow metal shaft, having a continuously and uninterruptedtaper may be used.

A further object of the invention is to simplify the construction of agolf club in which is utilized a straight continuously tapering shaft.

Other and ancillary objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates the invention:

Fig. 1 shows a golf club, in side elevation, embodying the invention;and

Fig. 2 is an'enlarged axial sectional view, partly broken away, of theclub shown in Fig. 1, and with the shaft somewhat removed from the head.

Referring particularly to the drawing, the golf club I is constructedwith a tubular metal shaft 2, preferably of steel, fitting through anadapter or sleeve 3 and into the hosel 4 of the head 5.

These parts are rigidly secured together by means of a pin, rivet orother device 6. The general contour of this club is precisely the sameas that of a previously used club having a wooden shaft or handle.However, the shaft 2 may be composed of tubular metal having acontinuous taper arranged so that it may be easily constructed, eitherof seamed or seamless tubing.

The construction is more clearly shown in Fig. 2 wherein the shaft 2 isshown as a tubular element of continuously tapering contour being largerat its outer end and smaller at its inner end. This type of tubingreadily adapts itself for construction by rolling a strip of sheet metalinto the form of a tube so that the seam may be joined by welding orotherwise and a rigid tubl0 ing results.

The head 5 may be of the ordinary construction which is commonlyutilized in connection with wooden shafts having an integral hoselportion 4 of outwardly flaring configuration. In

which fits a portion of the tubing a considerable distance from the endI of the adapter, the end r l of the adapter having a bevel or otherwisefor '3 fitting the outer end of the hosel 4. The lower end of the hoselis provided with a hole 8 which will fit closely to the end of the shaft2 so that the shaft may be supported at its end and also an appreciabledistance away from the end. The 5 sleeve or adapter 3 may be arranged tofit tightly upon the shaft 2 or may be welded at 9 as indicated or maybe sweated, brazed, welded or secured in any suitable way so as to forman integral and securely attached reenforcingportion. 30 The outersurface then may be finished or polished in any manner desired so as togive an appearance of a continuous solid shaft. It is often necessarywhen a welding operation is done to heat treat all of the parts adjacentthe weld 3 v so as to prevent unnecessary weaknesses from stresses setup in the metal during the welding operation. This can readily be donewith this arrangement without subjecting portions of the head to thisheat, by heat treating the handle 0 as a whole together with the sleeveor adapter 3. When the parts are then properly treated and finished offthey may be inserted within the hosel l of the head 5 and securedthereto in the customary manner, indicated by means of rivets 45 orotherwise. The inner-fitting portion of the adapter or sleeve 3 may bescrew-threaded into the hosel 4 if desired, or otherwise secured byviding the necessary stiffness and also permitting flexibilitycorresponding to that produced by previously utilized wooden shafts. Italso permits the use of a continuously tapered shaft which may bereadily manufactured or carried in stock without machining or otherwiseconstructing complicated and difficult formations. The advantage of thisconstruction lies in the fact that there are no uneven or abrupt jointswhere the shaft and the end of the hosel meet and that the re-enforcingof the shaft takes place in the necessary location so that continuouslytapering shafts will have the desired resilient characteristics.

According to the construction shown, a standard form of golf club headpreviously used in connection with wooden shafts and carried in stockfor that purpose may be used with shafts of steel and clubs of thedesired characteristics and appearance be produced withoutcomplications. It is thus apparent that a simple and effective structureis provided for utilizing a metallic shaft in connection with a golfclub and with which all of the characteristics of resiliency andotherwise of wooden shafts are retained without the difficultiesencountered in the use of wooden shafts.

It will be observed that the exterior surface of the sleeve 3 is acurved concaved surface. The presence of this curvature causes theflexibility of the shaft to be graduated and distributed so as to givethe desired flexibility and feel of the club, and this may be varied byvarying the concaved curvature.

It will also be observed that the sleeve 3 is tapered both internallyand externally throughout the greater portion of its length, thediameter of both the internal and external surfaces increasing as thehosel is approached, the end nearest the hosel being radially spacedfrom the shaft, and that the sleeve is of substantially uniformthickness throughout the greater portion of its length. This provides alight and readily manufactured and adjustable structure which forms astrut between the shaft and the hosel whereby the shaft is reenforcedagainst tendency to move laterally at the point of engagement of thesleeve with the shaft whereby the desired resilience and feel of theshaft can be obtained. Also the sleeve serves to fill, to a greater orless degree, the angle between the end of the hosel and the shaft,whereby the smooth contour similar to that familiar in wooden shaftedclubs is obtained.

The resilience and feel of the shaft can be varied by varying theposition along the shaft of the point of reenforcement, namely the pointof engagement of the sleeve 3 with the shaft, by varying the length ofthe sleeve or in other ways.

While the invention has been illustrated in what is considered its bestapplication it may have other embodiments without departing from itsspirit and is not therefore limited to the structure shown in thedrawing.

What I claim is:

1. In a golf club, the combination with a metal head having a hosel, ofa metal shaft secured in said hosel and a sleeve on said shaft havingits lower end longitudinally spaced from the lower end of the shaft,said sl eve engaging said shaft outside said hosel and having itsexterior and interior surfaces tapered whereby they increase in diameteras the hosel is approached, said sleeve being of larger interiordiameter at its lower end than at its upper end and said sleeve at itslower and larger end and for a considerable portion of its length beingradially spaced from said shaft.

2. In a golf club, the combination with a metal head having a hoselintegral therewith, of a metal shaft secured in said hosel and a sleeveon said shaft having its lower end longitudinally spaced from the lowerend of the shaft, said sleeve engaging said shaft outside said hosel andhaving its exterior and interior surfaces tapered where by they increasein diameter as the hosel is approached, said sleeve being of largerinterior diameter at its lower end than at its upper end and said sleeveat its lower and larger end and for a considerable portion of its lengthbeing radially spaced from said shaft, said shaft being radially spacedfrom the metal of said hosel throughout the greater portion of itslength.

3. In a golf club, the combination with a metal head having a hosel, ofa metal shaft secured in said hosel and a sleeve on said shaft havingits lower end longitudinally spaced from the lower end of the shaft,said sleeve engaging said shaft outside said hosel and having itsexterior and interior surfaces tapered whereby they increase in diameteras the hosel is approached, said sleeve being of larger interiordiameter at its lower end than at its upper end and said sleeve at itslower and larger end and for a considerable portion of its length beingradially spaced from said shaft,

said sleeve being of substantially uniform thickness throughout thegreater portion of its length.

4. In a golf club, the combination with a head having a hosel, of ametal shaft secured in said hosel and a sleeve on said shaft having itslower end longitudinally spaced from the lower end of the sha t, saidsleeve engaging said shaft outside said hosel and having its exteriorand interior surfaces tapered whereby they increase in diameter as thehosel is approached, said sleeve being of larger interior diameter atits lower end than at its upper end and said sleeve at its lower andlarger end and for a considerable portion of its length being radiallyspaced from said shaft and said sleeve being in supporting engagementwith said hosel wh reby to form a strut between said shaft and hosel toreenforce said shaft against lateral movement at the point of engagementof said sleeve with said shaft.

5. In a golf club, the combination with a metal head having a hosel, ofa metal shaft secured in said hosel and a sleeve on said shaft havingits lower end longitudinally spaced from the lower end of the shaft,said sleeve engaging said shaft outside said hosel and having itsexterior and in- "a terior surfaces tapered whereby they increase indiameter as the hosel is approached, said sleeve being of largerinterior diameter at its lower end than at its upper end and said sleeveat its lower and larger end and for a considerable portion of its lengthbeing radially spaced from said shaft, the exterior surface of saidsleeve being concave.

ARTHUR A. KRAEUTER.

